Canada's New Thermal Coal Policy Not Expected to Impact Majority of Mining Projects

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Canada has announced that it will not approve new thermal coal mining projects, or plans to expand existing mines, because of the potential for environmental damage. "The government considers that these projects are likely to cause unacceptable environmental effects within federal jurisdiction and are not aligned with Canada's domestic and international climate change commitments," said Canada's Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson on Friday.

The continued use of coal for power generation is not sustainable and runs against Paris Climate Accord goals to reduce carbon emissions, Wilkinson said. This is the latest blow to coal miners and those developing new coal-mining projects.

Industrial Info is tracking 52 coal-mining projects totaling $5.73 billion in Canada, with almost all of them located in the Western Canadian provinces of Alberta and British Columbia. The overwhelming majority of these projects will not be impacted by the policy announcement, because they involve metallurgical coal, which is used primarily for steel making. Metallurgical coal was not mentioned in the announcement, which only applies to thermal coal that is used for power generation.

Click on the image at right of a breakdown of Canada's coal mining projects by province.

One project that will be impacted is an expansion of the Vista Mine, located in Alberta and owned by Bighorn Mining Limited.

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